Of Blood and Memories: Child of Calamity
by v03-R.N
Summary: A great darkness is once again rising from the shadows... And so, a new hero must step forward to save the planet from utter annihilation.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guyz! As promised here's the sequel to my very first fanfic "Of Blood and Memories". Ok to all my old readers I hope you guys enjoy this fic while to my new readers who were kind enough not to hit the back button the moment they read the word "SEQUEL", don't worry since I think this fic can stand on it's own without having to rely on my first fic too much. But just to get you guys updated, this fic is set approximately 16 years after AC and about a year after "Of Blood and Memories". The "Protagonist" of this story is a first-class Soldier.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own SE, FF7 (or any of the FF games) and some of the characters of this fic. But if I ever win a billion dollars then I'm buyin it and force SE to use my fanfic to create an FF7 sequel (Screw DoC!!)

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

'Hey, Kadaj… Tell me one thing.' said the man who was seated in a wheelchair. His whole body was covered by a huge cloth that obscured his features.

Beside him stood a youngman whose garments were made of black leather. His hair that stretched down to his shoulders was the color of silver, while his eyes were a mixture of mako blue and emerald green. Both of them were at the top of a building undergoing construction; they were viewing the great chaos that the silver-haired youth and his brothers had caused.

'Just one thing…' the youth replied to the man.

'You said that you would become normal once you got Jenova's cells, but… what did you mean by that?'

'He… will return.' he answered coldly.

'…Sephiroth' the name sent chills down the spine of the older man. '…a nightmare, huh?'

'So I hear.' the youth responded once more.

'So you hear?'

'I don't know Sephiroth. Yeah, I just feel him!' a mixture of annoyance and confusion was etched on the young man's face. 'It irritates me! Me or Sephiroth, which does Mother…'

'Poor Spirit…' the man in the wheelchair sarcastically said.

'Whichever it ends up, you all will meet the same end!' The youth replied with contempt in his eyes. 'Mother made a long journey to come to this planet… to erase a bunch of fools from space, you see.'

He then turned his gaze to the man in the wheelchair, a small grin formed on his lips. 'But… you know, don't you? Nothing has changed here since the time when Mother came. That's why I'm going to make Mother happy. I'll do anything if Mother commands it.'

'Hmph, the nightmare comes again, huh?'

'As long as you guys are here, the same thing will keep happening.'

The man glanced at his right hand; the signs of the disease that had invaded his body were evident. 'The lifestream, which governs the flow of worlds…' he softly spoke. 'It comes and goes in the space between life and death… If that repetition is proof of life… it is inevitable that history will repeat itself.'

He then turned his attention to the silver-haired youth. 'I don't know about Jenova or Sephiroth, but… the same thing should keep happening. We will obey the fate of life. And while doing so, we will stop you.'

Though the man's eyes were shrouded by the cloth that covered him, they radiated an aura of confidence and determination as they stared at the silver-haired youth that stood beside him. And as he stared at the young man he could almost see it… the demonic smile of the one-winged angel.

* * *

Rufus quickly opened his eyes. He had dozed off on his chair. His desk was littered by countless documents and folders. He slowly massaged his forehead; he had dreamt of it again… that nightmare which has haunted him for the past year.

It had been almost 5 years since the Kalimdor incident. New entities that they now call shadows, that originated from the vortex in Kalimdor had increased the monster and fiend population in the planet. Towns and Cities were constantly under siege, because of this he had decided to implement the New SOLDIER Program sooner than originally planned. The first batch of SOLDIERs had arrived over a year ago. He had placed SOLDIER in the hands of one of his most reliable colleagues, Reeve Tuesti. Thanks to them the shadow attacks had decreased by as much as thirty percent.

He slowly stood from his chair and looked out at one of the giant windows of his office.

The city of Edge had developed quite well. He had spent the last decade and a half in trying to improve the city and make it better than its predecessor, Midgar. There were very few slum areas now and most of the old and worn-down infrastructures had been replaced by new ones. The city was prospering… and that was something that he was proud of.

And yet he was worried…

Fate, though kind, could be very cruel as well. He knew deep in his heart that all they had worked for, all that they had achieved… everything… could be destroyed in just a blink of an eye. Fate had this habit of balancing things out. It would surely interfere soon… but when? When another darkness comes… were they strong enough to defeat it? Were they strong enough to protect the present that they had worked so hard to make..? To preserve the future that they continue to strive for..?

As Rufus continued to stare out the window, a small folder suddenly fell off his desk. On its front lay the words:

**GONGAGA SHADOW REPORT:**

**POSSIBLE CLASS A SHADOW SIGHTING**

* * *

Inside a small church somewhere in the sector five area, a young man and woman in their teens could be seen staring at a gravestone in the middle of a flower patch.

The man had spiky light-brown hair while his eyes were the color of the deep ocean. He was wearing a black hooded vest that was placed over a dark blue shirt. He was also wearing dark baggy short pants whose length covered his knees. On his left hand he held what looked like a giant key, a small five-pointed star keychain was dangling on its hilt. On his right side, a huge Buster Sword could be seen embedded on the ground. A pink ribbon was wrapped around its handle.

The young woman on the other hand, had red hair that stretched down to her shoulders while her eyes were the color of indigo. She was wearing a pink dress that had a zipper which divided her outfit in the middle.

Their hands were clasped together as they stood there in silence.

The silence in the church, however, was suddenly broken by the sound of the young man's cell phone. He took out his phone and opened it; he had just received a text message.

**From: Reeve Tuesti; SOLDIER High Commander.**

**Mission Rank A**

**Rally Point at Gongaga Village. Meet at 17:00 hours. Mission details will be given on location.**

As the brown-haired young man returned the cell phone to his pocket, he turned his gaze towards the red-haired girl standing beside him. She had a questioning look on her face.

'Who was it?' she asked.

"It's Reeve again. He wants me to go to Gongaga."

'Another mission…' the girl looked annoyed. 'This is the third time this month. They sure are working you guys like chocobos.'

"Well… what did you expect?" he smiled at her. "It's not like there's a lot of us to go around to begin with."

He quickly pulled out the Buster sword that was embedded on the ground and made his way to the exit.

'Be careful, alright!' the girl yelled out to him.

He glanced back at her. "Got it… Oh, and I'll buy you a souvenir while I'm there, Ok!"

* * *

'Ah man! I'm sooo bored!!' a young man complained. He had blonde hair that was tied at the back and wore a yellow shirt and blue jeans. A small pistol could be seen stowed away on his back. He was aboard a small buggy together with four other people. They were headed to Gongaga.

He turned to the youth that was seated beside him; a young man who had blonde hair and red eyes. 'Hey Ramza, are we there yet?!'

'Mustadio, will you please just shut up!' the young woman who sat at the opposite end scolded. She had long blonde hair and hazel brown eyes, her face was feminine yet she exuded an aura of masculinity. 'You've been talking non-stop ever since we left Junon! Will you just keep quiet for a few minutes!'

'Why don't you make me, rookie!' he jeered at her.

She glared at him. She hated the fact that this man graduated a year before her.

Mustadio smirked at her. 'And what's up with that name of yours?' he continued. 'Agrias… isn't that a guys name! What are you, a lesb-'

But before he could finish speaking, the girl named Agrias had placed her sword's blade on Mustadio's neck.

'I swear to God, if you say one more word then I'm going to slit your throat! You got that!'

A nervous smile crept on Mustadio's lips. 'Y-Ye… Yeah. Got it.'

'Hey, come on guys. We shouldn't be fighting.' A young girl with dark brown hair and equally dark brown eyes spoke. 'Right, Olan.'

'Rafa's right guys.' replied the young man driving the buggy. The sides of his hair were shaved while the long black hair on the top of his head was neatly combed and tied to the back. 'I do want to get to Gongaga in one piece.'

The blonde-haired young man named Ramza glanced at the watch on his wrist. 'Olan, how far off are we?'

'We're just a few miles away. We'll probably be there in about 30 minutes.'

'Good…' he looked at the girl named Agrias; she was still holding her sword against Mustadio's throat. 'Agrias please put down your sword. I don't want anymore unnecessary arguments on this mission, alright.'

Agrias blushed as she slowly pulled the sword away. 'Yes sir, I'm sorry.'

Mustadio quickly touched his neck and sighed with relief. 'Phew… Thanks Ramz. Man, I thought I was a goner.'

Ramza raised an eyebrow. 'And Mustadio, this is our fourth mission together so try to follow orders and please try to be considerate about the other members' feelings.'

'The what-what now?' Mustadio asked in a confused tone.

Ramza shook his head. '…just forget it.'

After half an hour had passed, they had arrived at Gongaga Village. As they got off the buggy they were immediately met by two men. The first one was a stout looking man with a long beard; the other one was a tall adult and was very skinny.

'Welcome to Gongaga Village!' the stout looking man greeted. 'I am Mr. Sheck; I've been the mayor of this village for the past two years now. This man over here is Mr. Talico…' the tall man that stood beside the mayor gave them a small bow. 'He's the vice-mayor of Gongaga.'

The five of them made their way towards the Mayor and shook his hand. They started to introduce themselves one by one.

'Hi! My name's Olan Durai. SOLDIER, 3rd Class.'

'I'm Rafa Galathana. I'm a SOLDIER 3rd Class too.'

'Agrias Oaks, SOLDIER 2nd Class. It's nice to meet you.'

'Was'sup! The name's Mustadio Bunanza. I'm also a SOLDIER 2nd Class like her.'

'Her..?' the Mayor interrupted. 'But I thought Ms. Rafa was a SOLDIER 3rd Class?'

'Not that one..!' corrected Mustadio. 'This one!' he pointed at Agrias with a slight smirk on his face. 'I know she looks like a guy, but they say she's a girl… although I'm not really a hundred percent sure about that.'

Agrias glared at him.

'I… see…' Mr. Sheck nervously uttered.

Ramza stepped forward and introduced himself to the Mayor. 'Hello! My name is Ramza Beoulve, SOLDIER 1st Class. I'm the assigned leader of this mission.'

'1st Class!' Mr. Talico looked surprised. 'They actually sent a 1st Class SOLDIER here!'

'It's nothing to be concerned about actually…' Ramza assured him. 'There have been a lot of missions this past month so there isn't much of us to go around.'

'Oh, I see. Now I understand.' Mr. Talico started looking around; something seemed to be bothering him. 'Wait, according to the letter that Shin-Ra sent us, there was supposed to be six of you. Where's the other one?'

'The front office was late in notifying us about it. They said that we would meet him here. He should be arriving shortly.'

No sooner did Ramza finish speaking when he suddenly heard the sound of a motor from a distance.

All of them glanced back and saw a great red blur streaking through the road in high speed.

'He's here…' he whispered.

Within moments, the red blur that turned out to be a red motorbike whose frame resembled that of a fiery dragon stopped near them. Its rider, a young man with light brown hair and deep blue eyes, slowly got off the motorbike and approached the group. He stood in front of the mayor. The young man shook his hand and with a smile he introduced himself.

"Hi! My name's Sora Gainsborough Strife, SOLDIER 1st Class. Sorry I'm a little late."

'_Another one..! What in the name of Gaia is going on here?'_ Mr. Sheck thought to himself.

Sora turned to Ramza and shook his hand as well.

"I'm guessing that you're the mission leader… Am I right?"

Ramza nodded. 'Yeah. I'm Ramza Beoulve. I'm glad to have you on the team.'

"Like wise." Sora responded.

'Excuse me…' Mr. Talico interrupted. 'If you want… I'll guide you to your inn now.'

'Oh, yes. Thank you.'

Mr. Talico guided them through the town. As they walked through the Village of Gongaga their sights wandered through the brick huts that littered the village. There were also newer buildings mixed in with the old ones.

'Hey Mr. Talico! Could you tell us where the old Mako reactor was located back in the day?' Olan requested to the skinny man who served as their guide.

'Yes, of course.' Mr. Talico replied. 'It's right over there.' he said as he pointed at a huge area cluttered with houses and other small buildings made of stone and bricks. 'Shin-Ra cleared all the rubbish and waste products of the old reactor sight over 16 years ago; afterwards we used the reparation funds and expanded Gongaga Village.'

The vice-mayor then took them to a nearby inn. The inn looked very simple and had a homely feel to it. It was only 3 floors high but it was probably one of the tallest buildings in the village. As they entered the inn, they were immediately welcomed by a big bodied gentleman. He was quite masculine but his face seemed calm and friendly.

'Oi Talico!' he spoke to the tall man that accompanied the small contingent of SOLDIERs. 'Do ya mind telling me who these kids are.'

'They're the SOLDIERs that Shin-Ra deployed here' he answered.

'SOLDIER, huh. I was expectin a bunch of cocky guys in their late 20's, but I never thought that they'd be sendin kids here instead.'

'Hey! I resent that!' Mustadio protested.

'Ha ha ha ha!' the bearded man laughed in a booming voice. 'Sorry about that, since the last group they sent here were all in their early 20's I thought they'd be sendin people that were a bit older.'

"…last group?" Sora whispered.

'Anyways, let me introduce myself. The name's Patch, I'm the innkeeper here. Hope ya enjoy your stay here in my inn.'

As Mr. Talico left, all of them gathered inside one of the rooms in the inn for their mission briefing. Olan took out his laptop and a small projector from his bag. After a few minutes of setting the equipment a holographic chart immediately appeared in front of them. The chart contained some data while just below it was a miniature 3D landscape of Gongaga village. Ramza started to speak.

'Ok. Approximately 3 months ago a group of shadows appeared in the outskirts of Gongaga and terrorized the village. The local authorities contacted Shin-Ra for assistance and in response Shin-Ra sent out a group consisting of four 3rd Class and two 2nd Class SOLDIERs.'

An image of a black four legged beast with metal scales on its back appeared in front of them. It had giant thorn-filled antlers and a red glyph could be seen on its forehead.

'This is the shadow they fought. Most of them were around Class E Shadows while some were D Class. After 3 days they were able to wipe out all the shadows and classified the mission as complete. However, after one month, these things started to appear from out of nowhere again. Shin-Ra sent another batch of SOLDIERs. After cleaning up the village, they left two 2nd Class SOLDIERs to monitor and report about the origins of the said Shadows. After 3 weeks, they gathered enough evidence to prove the existence of an A Class Shadow lurking around this area.'

'A Class, huh. I guess that explains why they sent two 1st Class SOLDIERs in here.' Mustadio interrupted.

"Did the surveillance team get a visual of the target?" Sora asked.

'Yes… although it's not much, it more than confirms our suspicions.'

A video was now being played by the projector.

'Watch closely at the readings below.' Ramza pointed at a few numbers at the bottom of the video.

As the others watched the video, an image suddenly passed through and as it did the readings at the bottom immediately increased greatly. The image was too fast for them to make out its details, and when they tried to zoom in at the image it always came out blurred.

'As you just saw in the video, our target is quite fast and has a knack for hiding. So we basically have our work cut out for us. The surveillance team believes that this thing may have the ability to self replicate, although the replicas tend to be weaker than the original.'

"Kill the source and its mission accomplished, right?"

'More or less.' Olan replied.

Ramza turned to the others. 'Alright then, all of us should get a good night's rest. We'll discuss tactics and strategy tomorrow. Everyone will meet here at exactly 05:00 hours. Dismissed.'

* * *

All of them were in their respective rooms. Sora was lying on his bed, both his hands on the back of his head. After a year of constantly traveling around Gaia he had gotten used to sleeping in inns, though he still preferred resting on his own bed.

It was half past midnight. He usually found it hard to sleep on the first day in a new inn. He turned his head to the side and glanced at the Buster sword that lay at the corner of the room. His eyes lingered at the pink ribbon that was wrapped around its hilt. That ribbon… it was his mother's.

A small smile made its way to his lips. Back when he was still a child, she would always sing to him every time he couldn't sleep. He remembered how she would cradle his head in her arms when he was younger.

He missed her… the same way that any loving son would miss his own mother. It had been almost 5 years since she had died, and yet the huge void that she left had not been fully filled. His childhood had ended the moment she had left. He thought about how he had taken her presence for granted. If he had known that she would depart sooner than he could have ever imagined then he would have made it his priority to show her how important she was to him… how thankful he was that she was his mother.

He closed his eyes… dwelling in the past was something that he did not wish to do, yet he always ended up doing nonetheless.

Suddenly, he heard someone… singing.

_Uta o uta ou sekai no uta o_

He quickly opened his eyes. The voice was coming from above him. His room was on the third floor which meant that it was probably coming from the rooftop.

_Doko made ikou Sora o aoi de_

He quickly got out of bed. He crept out the back window of his room and with the speed and stealth of a 1st Class Soldier that he is, he easily made his way to the top of the roof unnoticed by the owner of the voice.

He focused his eyes on the feminine figure that stood on top of the roof. Her features were obscured by the darkness of the night as she continued to sing that sweet melody emanating from her lips.

_Hito no fuuoe mushi no habataki_

_Fuwa fuwa fururi omoi no sete_

And as the figure turned to face him, the moon bathed her in its light.

He was shocked as his eyes were met by a deep emerald gaze.

"…Mom?"

* * *

Pretty long isn't it. I don't usually do long Chapter 1's but this was actually two chapters that were merged together. Anyway, to all the readers of "Dreams of an Angel", you guys don't have to worry since I'm not abandoning the fic. I just needed to write this one to get it out of my head. I'll probably update this thing once every 3-4weeks until I finish "DA". RnR please.

**Author's Note:** (1) The first part was taken from AC. The dialogue was from the subtitles of my DVD. (2) "My" Shadows are in no way related to the shadows of the KH franchise. Here's a little info about them. Shadows are different from monsters because of 2 main reasons: they are a bit more organized compared to most monsters in FF7 and they also have strange markings or glyphs that are either clearly visible or hidden somewhere in their bodies. Shadows are classified according to class. This classes are S, A, B, C, D, and E. S being the strongest and E being the weakest. The stronger the shadow the more intelligent it is. (3) Yes, I know some of the characters (especially Mustadio) are a bit OOC. (4) The name of the song in the end is "Konoyo no Uta" by Iwasaki Taku.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guyz! It's me again! Dammit!! I cannot believe we just freakin lost to Sacramento! I mean WTF!! That game was supposed to be a gimme! Thank God the Suns won against the Spurs so as of right now were only half a game back from the top spot (probably one of the very few times that I've actually cheered for Steve and Co.). Anyway, sorry if I couldn't update this thing sooner. Like I said, I'm not gonna update this fic often until I finish "Dreams of an Angel". I decided to place this fic in the CxA section because (1) this fic is a sequel of a fic whose theme is CxA (2) read the chapter below and find out for yourself. Hehehe. Here's Chapter 2.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2 **

Sora stood there on top of the roof like a statue, his body was frozen. It was as if he was in some sort of trance. Those beautiful emerald green eyes made him hold his breath; he couldn't stop staring at them.

The figure made her way towards Sora. And as she leaned forward with her hands clasped behind her back she gazed at him with a questioning look on her face, wondering if there was something wrong with the brown-haired youth that stood in front of her.

'Hello?' she spoke, trying to coax a reply from him, but he didn't answer.

She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled deeply.

'Hello!' she softly yelled as she let out the air in her lungs in one swift breath.

Sora was startled and fell on his bottom; he was finally free from that trance-like state. His eyes no longer focused on just her eyes but on all of her features as well.

No… She wasn't _her_.

'I'm sorry about that.' she giggled as her hand reached out to him. 'Here, I'll help you up.'

As she pulled him up to his feet, he gazed at her and quickly noted the many differences of this girl and his mother…

For one thing; instead of a pink dress, she was wearing a yukata covered by an array of flowery designs. Her hair, although it did have the same dark chestnut-brown hue, only stretched a few inches above her shoulders. Her face radiated with youth, she was probably around the same age as he was.

And yet… the similarities were there.

Her smile exuded the same feeling of warmth. Her face, if he looked past the small differences, reminded him so much of his mother. And her eyes… those beautiful emerald green orbs, they were almost the same as _her's._It was as if he was looking at a reflection of the past.

'Did I wake you? If that's the case then I'm really sorry.' she politely apologized. 'Weird… my singing's never disturbed any of the inn's guests before.'

"No, no. You don't need to apologize." he shook his head frantically. "I… umm… I couldn't sleep in the first place anyway, and besides… your singing was really great."

'Really!?' her eyes quickly lit up. 'Wow, thanks!'

Sora blushed.

"So… umm… why… what're you doing in a place like this?"

'Oh, well I always hang around here a couple of times every week.'

"Umm… no offense but, hanging around rooftops isn't really something that most people like to do especially in the middle of the night."

'Touché!' she replied with a hint of laughter on her lips. 'You do have a point there.'

She quickly grabbed his hand. 'If you want, I'll show you the reason why.'

She pulled him near the edge of the roof.

'Look over there.' she told him as she raised her head to the sky.

Sora followed suit, and as he did he found himself in complete awe as he stared at the beautiful stars that littered the sky above the village of Gongaga.

'It sure is pretty, don't you think so?'

"Yeah… it is." He had rarely seen the night sky so vividly before. Edge, being a city, was overrun by neon lights that took away the beauty of the sky above.

'This inn is one of the biggest buildings in Gongaga. It offers a really nice view of the whole town and the night sky. I really love it here. Good thing Mr. Patch is an old friend of mine so he let's me come and stay here anytime I want.'

Both of them sat near the edge of the roof as they gazed at the small town. The young girl quickly reached for a small box near her and took out a small bottle of milk.

'Here, have some. It's really good.' she said as she handed the bottle to him.

"I-I can't take this. It's yours, right."

'Nah, it's alright. It's on the house so you don't need to worry about paying me back.' She slowly took out another small bottle of milk. 'See, I always bring a spare.'

As both of them drank the milk, the girl looked at him and smiled.

'So… how is it? Doesn't it taste even better when you drink it during night time?'

"Nope…" he answered as he looked at the empty bottle. "Still taste the same."

'Really?' she spoke in a perplexed tone.

She sipped some more milk from her bottle. 'Oh, by the way I'm Saya… Saya Minatsuki. What's your name?'

"I'm… Sora, Sora Strife. It's nice to meet you." he said with a smile.

'That's a really nice name you've got there. Sora, huh… I think that means "sky", right?'

Sora gave her a small nod.

'Strife… hmm. I know I've heard it somewhere before.' she spoke as she placed her index finger under her chin as if she was trying to remember something. 'Oh well.' she shrugged her shoulders and continued to drink some more milk.

"So… umm… Saya, where do you live?"

'I live in an orphanage right here in Gongaga Village.'

"So… you're an orphan?"

'Yup…' she answered. 'I never knew my real parents. Sister Anne found me in front of the orphanage's door when I was barely a year old.'

"Oh…" he said in a low tone. Even though he didn't mean it, he felt so stupid for bringing up such a sensitive topic.

'It's okay…' she smiled. 'At first I was really angry at them for leaving me behind, but Sister Anne always told me that no parent would ever willingly part with their child unless they had a really good reason for doing so. That's why I believe that when they left me in the orphanage, they must've been thinking of what was best for me.'

"So, who's this Sister Anne anyway?"

Saya raised her head and gazed at the moon.

'She was the one who ran the orphanage…'

"Was… So she's retired?'

'Not exactly…' she said in a sad tone. 'She died… 2 years ago.'

"_Stupid! I'm such a bonehead." _he though to himself. Sora hated the fact that he kept bringing up such sensitive topics.

"I-I'm sorry."

Saya smiled a bit as she remembered the orphanage's former matron.

'Sister Anne was a really good person. I always thought of her as my mother. Sister Anne, Mrs. Rio, and the kids in the orphanage… they're my family'

"But didn't anyone try to adopt you… I mean… you seem to be a very kind-hearted person."

A small grin appeared at the corner of the girl's lips.

'Well first off, thank you for that compliment.'

Sora's cheeks glowed a faint red as he quickly stared at his feet.

'To tell you the truth, there were at least 5 couples that tried to adopt me but… I didn't want to get adopted. I always considered that orphanage as my home. I just couldn't bare the thought of leaving. I used to tell Sister Anne that when I'm old enough I'd help her out in taking care of the orphans there. When she died, I was the one who took her place.'

"It must be hard for you… trying to run an orphanage on your own."

At first it was, but the townspeople helped me out. Now we get by with me doing some odd jobs like washing clothes, gardening, sewing, and other stuff. I owe that orphanage for sheltering me for over 15 years. That's why I'm going to do my best to keep it open.'

She turned to Sora. 'Well, enough about me. So Sora, where do you live?'

"I'm from Edge."

'Wow..!' her eyes glimmered with excitement. 'I've never been there before, so is it really nice there?'

"I guess you could say that." Sora replied with a slight smirk on his face.

They spend the next 3 hours talking about the city of Edge. Sora told her about its tall skyscrapers that stretched to the heavens. He told her about how bright the city was even during the night. He told he about the people that lived in Edge, the cars that passed through its streets and other things.

'I'd better get going.' she said as she glanced at her wrist watch. She slowly stood up and gave him a small bow. 'It was nice meeting you.'

"Me too." he said as he looked at his feet and scratched the back of his head.

As Saya slowly made her way to the ladder at the corner of the inn…

"Saya wait!" Sora suddenly called out to her.

'Hm. What is it?' she said as she glanced back at Sora.

"I… umm… if you want I could… err… walk you home. It is the middle of the night you know."

Saya giggled.

'You don't need to worry about me, Sora.' she assured him. 'I may look like your average damsel in distress, but I'm a lot tougher than I look.'

Sora gave her a slight laugh. "I guess."

'Goodnight Sora.' she spoke as she made her way down the ladder at the side of the inn.

"Goodnight… Saya."

* * *

Olan, Agrias, and Sora were patrolling the east side of the surrounding area around Gongaga Village. Ramza had decided to split the party in two. He together with Rafa and Mustadio will scout the west side while Sora and his group will scout the opposite side.

'Is there something wrong, Sir?' Agrias asked as she noticed Sora's groggy expression.

"It's nothing, really. It's just that I didn't get enough sleep last night."

'What time did you go to sleep?' Olan questioned.

"I think it was around 3:45 or something."

'What! You're kidding, right! That means you've only had an hour of sleep!'

"Well… I guess that explains why I'm so sleepy to begin with." Sora spoke with a slight chuckle.

'So what kept you up all night?'

Sora smiled as he remembered the young girl that he met on the rooftop of the inn.

'Hm? Why are you smiling?' Olan asked as he saw the small smile on Sora's lips.

"Oh nothing, I just remembered something funny."

'Sir… can I ask you a question?'

"Sure, what is it?"

'Umm… I was wondering… Is it true that your father is the legendary leader of AVALANCHE, Cloud Strife?!'

"Yup. The one and only." he replied.

'Really!? That's… that's incredible!' she said as her eyes were filled with enthusiastic excitement. 'My father used to tell me stories about him and AVALANCHE. One of the reasons why I joined SOLDIER in the first place was because I wanted to be strong, just like him.'

"Well, come to think of it… Dad is pretty strong."

'Umm, Sir… can I ask you a favor?'

"Favor..?"

'After the mission… could you… umm… get me Mr. Cloud's autograph?'

Olan quickly burst out in laughter. 'Unbelievable! Who would've thought that our little Agrias here is a fangirl.'

'So… will you?' Agrias looked at Sora with such a hopeful expression on her face.

Sora smiled tensely.

"Y-Yeah… Sure."

Sora suddenly remembered his friend Riku. Back when they were kids, Riku would always ask him for his father's autograph. He wondered if this girl and his friend were related somehow.

* * *

'Goddd! This is weak!' Mustadio complained as he, Ramza, and Rafa scouted the small forest at the west side of the area surrounding Gongaga village. 'We've been walking for 3 hours straight! Can we please get some rest, my feet are killing me!'

Ramza shook his head. He then looked at Rafa. 'Did Sora and his group find any information?'

'Not yet…' Rafa replied as he looked at Olan's message in her cellphone.

'This is such a stupid waste of ti…'

Mustadio and Ramza suddenly stopped in their tracks. Both of them looked tense for some reason.

'You sensed it too… didn't you, Mustadio.' Ramza whispered.

'Yeah… there are probably 15… no, scratch that, there are at least 30 of them. Three meters and closing in!'

Ramza slowly unsheathed his sword. 'Rafa, you're on support. Mustadio, let's go.'

Mustadio pulled out a small gun from his behind him. 'About time, I was getting pretty bored back there.'

They cautiously made their way through the small forest. Without warning, a number of the four legged shadows appeared from out of nowhere.

'Let's go!' the blonde shouted as he and Mustadio charged at the horde of shadows in front of them.

Ramza quickly slashed at four of the monsters with his sword while Mustadio fired a barrage of bullets at those that attacked them from the side. Rafa began casting thunder magic from behind.

As Ramza stabbed seven more shadows in front of him, he noticed that their enemies were steadily increasing in numbers.

'Damn! Where are all these things coming from?!'

They continued to ward-off the group of shadows for 15 minutes, yet the creatures' numbers did not dwindle and instead, steadily grew.

'Hey Ramza!' Mustadio called out to their leader. 'How many did you get?!'

'Thirty-five! How about you?!'

'Heh, I got 38. Well I guess you can still catch up since there's still a lot to go around.'

Ramza smirked. '…Make that forty!' he spoke as he dispatched five more shadows.

'Hey! That's cheating!'

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

'An earthquake..? Rafa whispered.

'…No.' Mustadio looked nervous. Something big is heading straight for us!'

'Dammit…' Ramza cursed under his breath. 'Rafa, signal Sora and the others! I think we might have found our target!'

The brown-haired girl nodded.

'…SoL… DieR!!' roared an inaudible sound from the murky regions of the forest.

'KiLL!! SoL… DieR! MuST KiLL… SoLDieR!!'

Within a matter of moments, an entity appeared before them. A demonic being that could be described by one word alone… Abomination!

* * *

Okay… I'll be going on a road trip this week so chances are I won't be updating any of my fics for a while but I'll be back (unless of course we somehow encounter a horrible and painful accident wherein we either get maimed or killed knocks on wood) Lakers goin up against the Raps tomorrow and I'm expectin big ass numbers from Kobe to make up for his missed game winner. And Pacquiao-Marquez II will be on the 15th so I'm asking you guys to support not just the Purple n Gold but also the "Pacman" as well (I've got a KO bet in the 6th, 8th, and 9th round). RnR please.

**Author's Note**: Saya is actually a borrowed character from the anime "Black Cat" (Her official theme is "Konoyo no Uta" which explains why I used it in the ending of the last chapter) During my brainstorming sessions I had either Saya or Sakura from the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles as final candidates to be the "borrowed"character since both of them remind me a lot about Aeris but Saya won in the end since her personality also reminded me of our favorite Cetra!


	3. Chapter 3

Good day guyz! It's me… AGAIN! Woohooo!! Lakers are going to the WCF!! Goddd!! I'm shaking in my boots (ok… so technically, I'm not even wearing boots) right now! Three years of mediocrity and that not-so-great summer and NOW were finally back were we belong!! And to think that I would have been ecstatic if we just got the 8th seed and now after all that has happened (Bynum rising, PAU trade, 1st seed in the WEST, KOBE MVP, and a trip to the WCF) this is almost a dream season and the only things that are missing are (1) Championship and (2) Kobe finals MVP. And next season were gonna be deadly with a healthy Bynum and Ariza! Anyway, sorry for the long homer rant. So here's chapter 3.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

Sora, Olan and Agrias continued to tread the eastern side of the forest surrounding the Village of Gongaga. After a few minutes, the three of them stopped as they heard the sound of Olan's cell phone. He quickly took the phone from his pocket and read the text message that their comrades had sent them.

"What does it say?"

'It looks like they found something.' Olan answered.

"Alright… I guess we better get going. You two, follow me."

* * *

Ramza, Mustadio, and Rafa stared at the being in front of them in complete disgust.

The shadow that had appeared from out of the murky depths of the forest was truly revolting. Though it resembled the appearance of their other four-legged adversaries it was at least three times bigger. Its body was covered by jagged scabs that were oozing with puss. The metallic scales on its back were bathed in blood as the carcasses of other fiends were embedded on its tips. The red glyph on its forehead shone brightly like a raging flame. Its eyes were filled with the bloodlust of a wild beast as its acidic saliva dripped from its great gaping jaw.

Mustadio couldn't help but express his revulsion.

'Holy shit!! That is one ugly son of a…'

'Yes Mustadio, we know!' Ramza quickly cut him off. 'Rafa, back us up. Make sure that the other shadows don't overwhelm us too much. Mustadio and I will handle this thing.'

'Okay.' Rafa nodded.

'Let's do this!' Ramza shouted.

The blonde SOLDIER with red eyes quickly charged at the giant creature in front of them as Mustadio provided some cover fire from the back. Some of the lesser shadows tried to attack them from the side but Rafa, with the use of his lightning spells, was able to prevent them from advancing any further.

Ramza raised his sword and with one powerful swing he slashed at the giant beast, producing a deep gash in one of its massive legs.

The gigantic shadow was enraged by Ramza's attack. In one swift motion it turned its head towards the blonde and tried to bite off the First Class SOLDIER's head. Ramza, however, was able to dodge the attack with the use of his incredible agility.

The beast's red eyes shone even more with rage. The fact that it could not reach its target seemed to irritate it. It began thrashing around, its mouth frothing with acidic foam as the metallic spikes on its back began to quiver.

The monster suddenly curled its body, exposing its spikes as it now resembled that of a gigantic spike ball. It started to spin around and immediately headed straight for the three SOLDIERS.

All three of them were able to evade its attack but it showed no signs of stopping. It ran amuck through the forest, decimating trees and even crushing other shadows that stood in its wake.

Just then, three of the other smaller shadows ambushed Rafa from behind and pinned her to the ground.

Sensing that the brown haired female SOLDIER was now completely defenseless, the gigantic shadow quickly shifted its direction and started bulldozing its way towards her.

'Ah shit! Rafa!!'

Ramza with all the speed that he could muster turned his body and jumped in front of Rafa, sword in hand and ready to block the shadows attack.

Within the span of a single second, the sound of steel clashing with steel echoed through the forest. As the dust finally settled, two blades could be seen; they were crossed together and blocked the massive shadows advance. One of the blades was Ramza's broadsword… the other was a giant Buster sword.

The blonde glanced at the brown haired young man with deep blue azure eyes and smirked. 'Took you guys long enough.'

The two SOLDIER's quickly pushed the shadow back.

"Better late than never, right?" Sora replied with a small grin on his face.

'Umm… guys? Sorry to interrupt but I could reaalllyyy use some help here.' Rafa sarcastically spoke.

"Oh."

The brown haired young man easily discarded the three shadows with one swing of his Buster sword.

'Thanks Sora.'

Agrias and Olan, who had just appeared, made their way to Sora and Ramza together with Mustadio.

'So what do we do now?' Olan asked their leader.

'Rafa, Olan, and Mustadio… you guys take care of the small fry. Agrias, Sora and I will handle this thing.

More and more of their four-legged enemies began to sprout from out of nowhere, surrounding the six SOLDIER's

'Okay! Let's go!'

Sora, Ramza, and Agrias quickly started their assault against the giant shadow that had yet to relinquish its spherical form. The other lesser shadows tried to hinder their advance by overwhelming them with sheer numbers but Mustadio, Rafa, and Olan provided very effective cover fire for their three companions.

Ramza and Agrias slashed at both sides of the curled up shadow while Sora attacked from above. But the hardened skin on the creatures back proved to be more formidable than they thought, not to mention the metallic spikes that protruded all over its body made it difficult for them to deliver more efficient attacks.

'Damn it!' Ramza cursed. 'If only we could get past that things exterior…'

'Here it comes again!' Agrias shouted as the monster started to attack once more.

The three SOLDIERs immediately dispersed as the monstrous spike ball tried to crush them.

As Sora landed a couple of meters from the shadow, he slowly pulled out the giant key-like weapon that was stowed on his back. The spherical monster started plowing its way towards the brown-haired young man.

'What the hell!? Sora, get out of the way!' Mustadio yelled out to him.

But Sora did not move and continued to stare at the incoming death train that was inching towards him.

'Sora! Have you lost your damn mind!! Get out of the way!' Ramza shouted at the stubborn young man who seemed to have a death wish.

Sora smirked as he lunged at the beast with the tip of his keyblade leading the way.

'Sora!!'

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared at the tip of Sora's keyblade. All of them were shocked as Sora easily passed through the creature like a hot knife. As he gently landed a few feet from the shadow, he looked back at the giant hole that could be found straight through the middle of the creature that now lifelessly lay on the ground.

He turned his attention to his comrades.

"Hey guys, I think its time to clean up."

Mustadio smirked.

'Alright, let blow this suckers out of the water!'

The six SOLDIERs then began their assault against the remaining shadows. After thirty minutes, they were finally able to clear the area.

'Whew, finally..!' Mustadio whispered as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. 'Well, I guess that's mission accomplished. Let's report back to HQ, I wanna get back to Edge already.'

'The mission isn't over yet…' Ramza looked at him sternly. 'Our target is still on the loose.'

'What? But didn't Sora just skewer the damn thing a few minutes ago.'

"Ramza's right…" Sora interrupted. "Our target is an A class shadow… and A class shadows don't go down that easily. That thing we fought was a B class at best. Not to mention, based on the footage that the surveillance team gathered, were dealing with something that's as quick as lightning. The shadow we fought was nowhere near as fast as our target."

'Pfft! So we're stuck here for a few more days… grreeeaaaattt…' Mustadio said in a sarcastic manner.

Ramza looked at his watch.

'Okay, we'll head back to the inn and rest up a bit. We'll continue our search in the afternoon.'

As the small entourage of SOLDIERs made their way back to Gongaga Village…

'Sir, that move you just did back there was pretty amazing!' Agrias commented. 'How did you do that?'

'Rookies…' Mustadio whispered. He looked at the key-like weapon that was stowed safely on the back of the brown-haired youth. 'Guess the rumors back in Junon were true then.'

Agrias had a puzzled look on her face. 'Rumors?'

'Back in our academy days, we heard rumors about something called "The Ultimate Piercing Weapon" that some guy wielded.' Olan explained to the blonde haired girl. 'Of course I thought that it was all just a hoax, especially since I never saw anything like that during any of our practicals. But I never thought that they were actually referring to Sora's keyblade.

Mustadio quickly sneaked from behind Sora and playfully put the young man in a head lock.

"Ow! Mustadio!"

'He he he! Hey Sora, how come you never showed any of those moves back in the academy?

"How about you let go of my head first."

As Mustadio gladly obliged…

"Well, the keyblade was actually given to me by Reeve."

'Wow!' Agrias looked quite astonished. 'So the commander was the one who gave you the keyblade.'

"Yup. He and my dad knew each other during AVALANCHE's heyday. When Reeve gave me the keyblade, he told me not to use any of its special features during practicals."

'Why is that?'

"Beats me. I think he didn't want me to get too reckless."

* * *

As the group arrived at the inn in Gongaga Village…

'Good mornin!' Mr. Patch greeted them. 'It looks like you guys didn't have a great start today. How bout you all rest up and get your strength back up.'

As the five SOLDIERs climbed up the stairs of the inn, Sora stayed behind and walked in front of the counter.

"Hey, Mr. Patch?"

'What's up kid?'

"Do you know a girl named Saya?"

'Saya… yeah. Wait, are you an old friend of hers?'

"No, it's just that I met her last night at the rooftop."

'Ah, same old Saya. That girl's one tough cookie you know. I guess that should be expected, after all Sister Anne was the one who took care of her since she was a baby. She works hard and absolutely loves the kids in the orphanage.' Mr. Patch then glanced at Sora with a huge grin on his face.

Sora, perplexed at why the big-bodied adult was looking at him slyly, raised an eyebrow.

"Umm… why are you looking at me like that?"

'You like her, don't ya kid?'

Sora immediately started to babble defensively at the man.

"What!? No way! I mean… its not like she's not cute and all but we just met and besides I already have some-…"

Mr. Patch immediately burst out laughing.

"What?! What's so funny?"

'Easy kid, I was just messin with ya. Anyway, you better get some rest. You and your friends have the whole day ahead of ya.'

* * *

Sora was quietly lying on his bed as he looked at the ceiling of his room. They had spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening trying to locate their target but to no avail. With the way that things were going it seemed as if they would be spending a few more days in Gongaga Village.

He glanced at the small wall clock hanging at the corner of the room. It was already past midnight but he still couldn't sleep which was strange since he usually felt more at home on the second night of his stay in an inn. He quickly rose from his bed and walked towards the keyblade that was placed at the corner of the room together with his Buster sword. He slowly reached for the small keychain that was hanging on the keyblade's hilt. He smiled a bit as he remembered the young red-head who gave the keychain to him.

"I guess I better buy that souvenir soon…"

Just then, he heard the sound of small footsteps traversing through the roof. Someone was trying to cautiously walk on top of the inn.

Sora quickly grabbed his keyblade and Buster sword. Could this be the shadow that they were searching for?

He quietly sneaked out of his room through the window and cautiously made his way to the top of the inn, trying to avoid making any noise.

As he finally reached the top of the inn, he immediately recognizes the silhouette of the figure who was quietly sitting near the edge of the roof.

"Saya?"

The figure turned and smiled in recognition of the brown haired young man who called out her name.

'Oh, hey Sora.' The young female quickly noticed the two blades that the youth was carrying. 'What are those?'

"Oh, these things… I… err… uhh… d-don't mind them."

Saya patted the place next to her.

'Here, have a seat.'

Sora stowed the two weapons on his back and sat next to Saya.

'Having trouble sleeping again?'

"Well… a little."

Saya reached for a small box near her and took out a small bottle of milk.

'Do you want some?'

"Uhh… sure, I guess."

Sora took the small bottle and drank some of the milk inside. He then stared at the small bottle in his hand before glancing back at Saya.

"You must really like milk, huh?"

'Well, milk is good for you. It's both delicious and nutritious. It helps toughen up your bones and keeps you healthy. That's why I think everyone should drink a few glasses of milk everyday.'

Sora started to laugh.

'Hey! What's so funny? Is there something wrong with what I said?' she pouted.

"No. it's not that. It's just that… you sounded like my mom there for a second." he replied with a huge grin on his face.

After awhile, Sora noticed Saya intently staring at him.

"What's with the look? Is there dirt on my face or something?"

She shook her head. 'No… I just thought of something, that's all.' She slowly raised her head to the sky. 'Your mom must be a really good person.'

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

'Well. Since you're a good person then… it's only natural that your parents are good persons too.'

"Well… you're right. My dad is a good person. And my mom was a good person too."

'Was..?'

"She died five year ago."

Saya quickly lowered her head. 'Oh… I… I'm sorry, about your mom.'

"No, don't worry about it."

She glanced at the pink ribbon that was wrapped around the hilt of Sora's Buster Sword.

'That ribbon… was that your mom's?

"Yeah… That ribbon was her favorite."

'Hey Sora… can I ask you something?'

"Sure."

'Your mom… what was she like?'

A small smile appeared at the corner of the young man's lips as he remembered his mother, Aeris.

"My mom… she was the best mother in the world. I remember back when I was a kid, how she used to tuck me into bed and sing to me… And then she'd always kiss me on my forehead and tell me "I love you". Every night she used to do that for me, and she never forgot… not once."

'Sora…'

"The one thing that I'd always remember about her was her voice."

'Her voice..?'

"Yeah… She had a beautiful voice. Whether she was happy, angry, or sad… her voice was always the same. It was always calm… soothing. I'd recognize her voice anywhere."

Saya noticed a small tear slowly running down the brown haired youth's cheek.

"I remember… when my dad told me that she was gone. I couldn't stop crying. Everything was like a nightmare. If it hadn't been for my dad… then I would've probably lost it."

He suddenly felt the young girl's hand wipe away the small tear that traced his cheek.

'It's alright. You can cry if you want to.'

Sora looked at the girl that was sitting next to him.

'Crying isn't a sign of weakness. It's all right for people to cry once in a while… even for First Class SOLDIERS.

"Wait, how did you-..?"

Saya smirked. 'Well, like I said… Mr. Patch is an old friend of mine. I had a little chat with him during the afternoon and he told me that me that you're a First Class SOLDIER.'

As they continued on with their conversation; Saya's attention was caught by the small star-like keychain that hung inconspicuously on the hilt of Sora's keyblade. It glistened through the darkness of the night providing a small semblance of light for the two of them.

'Wow, that keychain is so cute!' she said with glee.

"Oh, you mean this?" Sora spoke as he unsheathed the keyblade from his back and showed the young girl beside him the small keychain on its hilt. "Someone special gave it to me. I consider this keychain as my good luck charm."

'Let me guess…' Saya smiled slyly at him. 'You're girlfriend was the one who gave it you, right?'

Sora looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Okay… that's just plain weird. How'd you know that?"

It's called woman's intuition. You probably wouldn't understand being a guy and all. Saya slowly reached for the small keychain and caressed it with her fingers.

'Was she the one who made this?'

"No, that keychain was actually given to her by her grandmother. She gave this to me before I left Edge to join SOLDIER."

'She must really like you a lot then…to give you something this important to her.' she smiled. 'She must be a very good person too, right?'

"Yeah… although she does boss me around a bit."

Saya couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"What?"

'Well, I kind of figured as much.'

Sora blushed.

The night continued to wane on as both of them spend the rest of the evening talking about anything that came into mind. Some were serious while most were just plain silly.

'Oh, look at the time!' Saya suddenly blurted out as she glanced at the small watch on her wrist. 'I can't believe it's already four in the morning. I better get going.' She slowly stood up. 'Sorry for keeping you up all night,'

"No, it's nothing really." He said as he began to rub the back of his head. "And besides, I think I'm becoming an insomniac anyway."

Saya placed her hands on her hips that sort of reminded Sora of how his mother looked when she scolded him.

'Well you should at least try to sneak in a couple of hours of sleep in the afternoon if you can.'

"Will do."

As the girl in the Yukata made her way to the corner of the inn and was bout to climb down the ladder…

"Hey Saya!"

She immediately glanced back. 'What is it?'

"Err… Are you going to be coming here tomorrow?"

Saya placed her index finger under her chin and seemed to be in deep thought.

'I don't know… maybe.'

"Oh…" he whispered in a deflated tone.

She quickly gave him a cheer-filled smile.

'Well, if you want me to come tomorrow night then okay. I'll make sure to bring a spare bottle of milk for you.'

Sora smiled back. "Yeah… I'd really like that."

'Goodnight Sora. Good luck on your mission tomorrow'

"Thanks… Goodnight, Saya."

* * *

Okay, I'll be out for another extended period of time so I'm really sorry if I won't be able to update any of my fics. School work is just hard and getting harder by the day. Anyway, RnR please. Go LAKERSSS!! 8 MORE WINS BABY!!

**Author's Note:** Since Sora isn't fighting heartless anymore, I decided to change the dynamics of the keyblade. I gave the keyblade 3 special features. One of these features has already been revealed (the ability to pierce through anything like a hot knife through butter), the second feature will be revealed soon while the third was inspired by the original KH keyblade.


End file.
